On the pretext of construction in areas (c) controlled by Israel, without a permit ", in danger of the demolition of 55 schools in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli occupation

authorities, the European Union spokesman for Palestine, Shadi Osman, reported that a delegation of heads of mission of the European Union and other States had visited the Ain Samia school east of Ramallah, which was facing the imminent threat of demolition.

"The Heads of Mission of the European Union and like-minded States today visited the Ain Samia School facing the imminent threat of demolition," Osman said.

The Israeli occupation authorities' decision to demolish the Ayn Samia school, built with European Union support and funding, was illegal and contrary to international humanitarian law.

In a direct statement to Al Jazeera, the European Union's representative in Palestine, Svin Kon von Burgsdorf, said during the visit that "the demolition of the school means that students are forced to walk about 9 kilometres to reach the nearest school, through roads surrounded by settlements, which threatens their lives".

Burgsdorf demanded that the Israeli authorities immediately halt the demolition decision.

The representative of the European Union confirmed that ambassadors and representatives would convey to their country's capitals the suffering of the population in the Ayn Samia area, as well as in the Mustafir Yatta area south of Hebron, which was also threatened with demolition.

The Israeli Central Court in occupied Jerusalem last Wednesday evening issued a decision ordering the immediate demolition of the Ayn Samia school north-east of Ramallah, according to data from the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights.

According to the Human Rights Center, the school serves students of the Ain Samia al-Badawi gathering of about three hundred individuals, located in areas classified as "C" under Israeli control, which accounts for about 61 percent of the West Bank area.

The Israeli authorities absolutely prohibit construction in areas classified as (c) without obtaining special building permits from those authorities.